PHYSICS
FLASH
News
from the Department of Physics ~ March 2008
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PHYSICS
FLASH |
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ASU PHYSICS |
From Curie to the ASU classroom:
On its website, the International Atomic Energy Agency makes the point that “Despite considerable progress made by women and girls in science and technology, studies today show that too many women still feel they learn and work in unfriendly or hostile environments and other technological workplaces.” See full text here. There are efforts underway to address these concerns at the national level and even through the United Nations.
ASU Physics is proud to
support the Physics and Astronomy Graduate Women’s Association (PAGWA).
The group’s origin began informally a couple of years ago when
Informal discussions eventually led to the creation of PAGWA which today has about 30 members who meet every other week
Accordingly to Levitus, the group’s discussions have “actually triggered many interesting conversations with some of the male professors in the department, including the Chair of Physics — Robert Nemanich — who is extremely supportive (of PAGWA)”.
When asked about the statistics on women in science, Levitus and PAGWA
student member Ashley Kibel agree that progress is underway —
particularly in biology and chemistry. Physics is moving much slower and
Levitus and Kibel both cite the perception that women are not good at
math as perhaps one reason why women do not pursue degrees in physics. (Continued on PAGE TWO) |
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IN THE NEWS... Congratulations to Daniel Barr, graduate student in the Center for Biological Physics, who was recently awarded the Teaching in Excellence Award by the ASU Graduate and Professional Student Association.  Daniel
has been teaching for three semesters and was nominated for this
prestigious award last year as well.He currently works with CBP Professor Arjan van der Vaart.
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Women in Physics... (continued from PAGE ONE) Levitus shares an interesting story relating to these skewed perceptions. “My very first reality check was when I moved to the US as a postdoc. I never experienced anything serious, but there are tons of small things that I would clearly identify as gender-related. For example, when I was a postdoc in Berkeley I invited a couple of lab mates for dinner at home. One of my male lab mates was checking some books on a desk and said something like 'I see that your husband likes computer programming'. The guy clearly assumed that those books could not possibly be mine, even (though) he knew that my work was computationally intensive.
"It turns out that my husband has a long list of wonderful qualities,
but computer programming is clearly not one of his skills. We still
laugh about the anecdote. This is (on the surface) not serious, but it
Kibel believes the low percentage of women in physics may have a domino
effect. Furthermore,
since there are so few women in faculty positions, it is hard to find a
role model who is a good example of a woman who has achieved a
successful career in physics” says Kibel. “It’s harder to convince
yourself that you can have a successful career when you rarely see women
in positions ahead of you.” “If you have an interest in science,” Kibel states “don’t let anyone else tell you that it’s too hard or that you can’t do it.” Levitus echoes “Look for supporting people around you…A career in science can be a lot of fun and extremely rewarding, so do what you want to do with passion and do not think that your gender will be an issue, because it doesn’t need to be.” ASU Physics recognizes the important contribution women have made and continue to make in the sciences. We honor their achievements this and every month through concentrated efforts to recruit and retain female physics students both at the undergraduate and graduate level. Furthermore, ASU Physics takes seriously the opportunity to position itself as an institution where high-caliber female scientists choose to work.
For more information on Marcia Levitus,
please visit
http://physics.asu.edu/faculty.php?
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Senator Kyl plays a key role on the Senate Finance Committee, and Congressman Pastor is on the House Appropriations Committee and three related important subcommittees. I visited both offices last year, and it was a pleasure to continue our discussions about the partnership of science and technology research and education and the funding support supplied by the US government. In Senator Kyl’s office our group met with Legislative Counsel Abby Donovan and Correspondent George Fleeson and the discussion focused on the tremendous growth of science and technology-related companies in Arizona and how their current and future successes relate to advances in science research. Much of this research has been funded through agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Aeronautics and Space Association, and the Department of Defense. Counsel Donovan was well aware of the importance of science research and education and was planning a visit to ASU on her next trip to Arizona. The MRS delegation recognized Senator Kyl’s support of the America Competes Act which was signed into law in 2007. In Congressman Pastor’s office, we met with Senior Legislative Assistant Richard Patrick. I had met with Richard last year, and I again enjoyed the opportunity to advance our discussion. With the growth of ASU’s downtown campus which is in the Congressman’s district, this was an even more focused discussion. Our conversation explored the impact of both science education and research particularly centered on the new health and technology focus of the district. We appreciated the Congressman’s support of the America Competes Act, and we all acknowledged the complexities in advancing the programs through the parallel appropriations bills. The other component of the partnership was particularly evident at two recent meetings - the March Meeting of the American Physics Society and the Spring Meeting of the Materials Research Society. At the APS meeting, there was tremendous excitement toward the potential of using a single atomic layer of graphite (termed graphene) in future electronics. At the MRS meeting, many new materials were discussed which could address a wide range of energy applications. I was struck by the enthusiasm, accomplishments and expertise of the many student researchers. They clearly showed that the public support of science will continue to impact our society. |
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ASU announces Nanoscience degree New graduate program offers options for science professionals and students The
Department of Physics in conjunction with the Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry announces the establishment of the Professional Science
Masters (PSM) in Nanoscience degree program.
For more information about the PSM degree and other offerings, visit http://physics.asu.edu/graduate/prof_degrees.php or contact Eboni Anderson, ASU Physics Graduate Coordinator at (480) 965-9152.
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female
graduate students began sharing common concerns with Marcia Levitus,
Professor of Chemistry and affiliate faculty in ASU Physics and the
Center for Biological Physics.
lts
typically obtained on synthetic molecules. The finding will have
significant implementations for the energetics of photosynthesis and
other biological energy transformations. Click
is
that same type of reasoning was often used to assume that the females in
the lab could not do serious data analysis and some guy was consulted
instead. This and other stereotypes are so deeply embedded in all of us
that they end up hurting female scientists in the more math and
computationally demanding fields even when no conscious discrimination
is intended.”
From
the Chair